CWF Arcadian Peanut Flashlight Review
The CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight is one of (if not THE) smallest 18350 clicky lights. It runs the new Quantum Dragon driver with red, green, and blue LEDs!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight product page.
Versions
At least three versions of the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight exist at this time. Stonewashed aluminum (seen here), stonewashed titanium, and machined titanium have been made so far. Unfortunately, everything seems to be out of stock. Among those lights are two emitter options, too: Nicha 219c in 5000K or 4000K (seen here.)
CWF is a nimble, responsive company though, so I would expect to see the Arcadian Peanut in many other body metals, as well as some other emitter options, too. You might even be able to get a custom version with whatever emitters you want!
CWF Arcadian Peanut Flashlight Price
As shown in this post, the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight costs $325. Again, this one is sold out. The others are too, but the titanium is more costly, at $579.
Short Review
If you simply want the smallest clicky 18350 flashlight, I think this one is it. (I haven’t run the numbers or searched, I’m just going on my limited knowledge of what’s out there.) So buy it for the novel size. Second to that fun size, it offers the brand new Quantum Dragon driver, which is a second iteration of the Dragon driver. There are other advances here, but notably, this one offers red, green, and blue all on one MCPCB. You can get to them all but you’ll have to enter the programming modes to do that. Still, it’s very neat that they’re all there on the light! The build quality here is great, and I’d say the aluminum version offers a pretty good value!
Long Review
The Big Table
| CWF Arcadian Peanut Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 219c (4000K) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $325.00 |
| Cell: | 1×18350 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Questionable |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | – |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 776 |
| Candela per Lumen | 4.6 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 124lux @ 5.099m = 3224cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 113.6 |
| Claimed CCT | 4000 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 3900-4100 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | CWF |
| All my CWF reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What’s Included
- CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight
- Keeppower 1200mAh (10A) 18350
- Georgia Peanuts (2)
- Birthdate card and instructions
Package and Manual
This card serves as a manual, too!
Build Quality and Disassembly
I think you can judge based on these photos: the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight is a squatty little light! It’s smaller than nearly any other 18350 flashlight, and it’s probably the smallest 18350 flashlight that uses a mechanical clicky.
Now, there are definitely smaller 18350 flashlights! For example, the Emisar D4V2 with the 18350 is probably smaller (but it’s a side e-switch light). The Lux-RC Minion is definitely smaller (but it’s rarified-air pricing, unavailable, and a twisty). So the Peanut (sorry, Arcadian Peanut – “Arcadian” is an important part of the name!) is the smallest!
Build quality is great. The finish of the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight is “stonewashed,” but this finish feels grippy, much like Armytek lights feel grippy. But unlike Armytek matte anodizing, this finish is pleasant.
Below you can see one of the huge differences, and how the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight is so diminutive. The positive end does not have a spring. Not only that, but the MCPCB (not shown, it’s on the other side of the copper part below) is a sort of “one piece” or more correctly just “much smaller than” most of these. I think that the Quantum Dragon driver is a one sided MCPCB. That means that all the components are on one side (in this case, the same side as the emitters). This is important (for size) because it means there doesn’t need to be any space for wires that go from the MCPCB to a driver. And basically that whole section (wires and driver) are the size difference in the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight.
It’s really a refreshing design. Even if you don’t care about the size of the Arcadian Peanut (in fact, I don’t – this size is fantastic but I wouldn’t say the “normal” size lights are too big, anyway)… even if you don’t care about the Arcadian Peanut being smaller, you can certainly appreciate that CWF isn’t just sitting on the Dragon (that is “regular” Dragon). This is flashlight advancement!
I’ll add that I tried unscrewing this assembly (above) but didn’t have any luck. Tweezers may be too pointy for this copper section; you’ll probably want to use a watchmakers tool or split ring pliers or something.
The other end, inside the cell tube, has a standard McClicky.
Size and Comps
0.99″ in diameter
2.85″ in length
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll also show that (usually in the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.
Also above is the light beside a TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats. I also reviewed that specific edition, the “Oveready BOSS FT Collector Vintage Brass” 35. I love it!
Below you can see the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight alongside a standard-sized CWF Arcadian. This is also an 18350 flashlight, but has the original Dragon driver. Since I know you’ll ask, that pocket clip is called the “Cliffhanger” and is made by someone no longer in the scene – you might be able to find one, but it’ll be a used one. It has a tritium slot (visible) but the bottom area of it is intended to house a lanyard (less visible).
And here are both Arcadian types with a Collector Vintage Brass BOSS.
Retention and Carry
A pocket clip is included and already installed on the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight.
The clip is great, and I think is specially sized for the Peanut – the regular size Arcadian has a longer clip (I believe, but then I have that Cliffhanger on mine!). Tension on this clip is great, and it’s great for usability in general.
It’s also a standard clip, so if you want to throw a Steelflame (or whatever) clip on here, you should have no problems with that if the length is right.
There’s no pouch or anything else with the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight.
Power and Runtime
A single lithium-ion cell powers the CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight. Luckily, one is included. It’s a Keeppower 1200mAh 18350 rated at 10A discharge.
The cell goes into the light in the usual direction – positive end toward the head.
I ran a few runtimes here – maybe more than usual (and a fifth one is down there, too!). Output at 100% is really remarkable but it does step down very quickly. That’s to be expected. There’s simply not enough mass to deal with 1500 lumens of heat. Because of this stepdown, and more importantly, because the lower modes step down a bit slower, the output at 50% is stated as higher than 100% (because I’m stating the 30-second value.)
Either way, performance is good. The light steps down to a very low output when cell voltage is low, but the light doesn’t seem to shut off. So the Quantum Dragon may or may not have low voltage protection, but it definitely discharges cells below where I want to see them. (For reference, 2.7V is fine but 2.6 is too low.) So when output steps down, just charge the cell!
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | – | – | 1503 (0s) 776 (30s) |
16+ |
| 50% | – | – | 888 (0s) 857 (30s) |
3.63 |
| 35% | – | – | 643 (0s) 624 (30s) |
2.34 |
| 15% | – | – | 292 | 0.74 |
| 5% | – | – | 76 | 0.13 |
| ML | – | – | 8.7 | [low] |
| Color | – | – | – | 0.03 |
Pulse Width Modulation
The leftmost photo is the color output (no PWM.) Then it’s the 6 white output levels in order from lowest to highest (just as if you were clicking through the levels.) Only the highest mode doesn’t use PWM.
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor. Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
The CWF Arcadian Peanut flashlight uses a McClicky switch, which is made by McGizmo. The McClicky is a forward clicky switch. This means momentary actuation is possible, but once the light is on, no mode changes can be made. There’s a black o-ring keeping things sealed nicely.
The switch cover (boot) does not extend past the edge of the light. This allows flawless tailstanding, of course. Action is is very normal “McClicky” – clicky and positive action. It’s fairly deep, too.
Quantum Dragon is going to be familiar for anyone who’s used Dragon Driver before. It’s not the same, but definitely a progression.
Here’s a user interface table for the default mode group! There are 8 mode groups. The dragon on a McClicky is pretty straightforward, I think.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | Low Secondary |
| On | Click | Off |
| Off | Half press | Mode advance (Low Secondary, High Secondary, Moonlight, 5%,15%, 35%, 50%, 100%) (that’s group 1, but different groups will advance differently) |
| Off | Half press >12x | Configuration Mode (indicated by flashes) |
Here’s a list of the mode groups. Basically nothing difficult about them, so no point in a separate table.
Group 1: Color, ML, 5%, 15%, 35%, 50%, 100% Group 2: Color, ML, 35%, 100% Group 3: ML, 5%, 15%, 35%, 50%, 100% Group 4: ML, 5%, 15%, 100% Group 5: ML, 15%, 100% Group 6: 5%, 15%, 35%, 50%, 100% Group 7: 15%, 100% Group 8: 15% - 50% Group 9: 100% Only Group 10: Color, 100% Group 11: 100%, Color Group 12: Color, 50% Group 13: 50%, Color
I showed in the table how to reach the configuration mode. Once in the configuration mode, you must select which thing you wish to change. If you wish to select a different mode group, for example, do the following:
- With the light off, half-press >12x and note when the light stops responding
- When the light stops responding, stop pressing but continue to hold the switch so that the light is “on”, and the light will begin flashing
- The light will flash “solid” then ramp down.
- If you wish to program options 2-4, you should “cycle the switch” during the ramp.
- If you wish to program option 1 (mode group), you should wait during the first ramp. The light will then blink all 3 colors (green then blue then red), then blink white (some number of times) then blink 3 colors again.
- If you want group 1, cycle the light during the next color cycle. (So when you’re in programming for Option 1, the light will ramp down, blink green blue red, then blink once (which indicates group 1) then blink green blue red again. It’s this second green blue red where you click to select group 1!)
- Light is programmed.
The same general process is used for the other options. Steps 5 and 6 in the list above differ slightly for the other options. Those options are as follows:
1. Mode Group Select. 2. Secondary choice.^ 3. Memory on/off.^^ 4. Strobe option.^^^
^Option 2 = Secondary color choice, when light ramps down it will blink twice to show its in the second option and flash each color several times, cycle switch while the color you want to use is flashing.
^^Option 3 = Memory on/off, when light ramps down it will blink three times to show you its in the third option and flash red or green several times. Cycle the switch while flashing red if you want memory off and green if you want memory on.
^^^Option 4 = Strobe option, when light ramps down it will blink four times to show its in the fourth option and flash each color several times, cycle switch while flashing red for off, green if you want standard strobe and blue for bicycle mode. To access these in normal use cycle switch rapidly three times and it will access either strobe programmed when turned on.
LED and Beam
This is a “triple” light and there are three Nichia 219c emitters here. They’re 4000K (but 5000K is available), and the light uses a standard Carclo optic. I am not sure which angle this is, but I think it’s the narrow option. (Narrow is the best!)
Along with those three Nichia emitters are three color emitters. Red, blue, and green. Just to try to state it clearly: all three colors are built into this one light! That’s in contrast to the old Dragon, which had only one color secondary emitter (but you could have the driver built with many different options.)
On Quantum Dragon, though, despite it having red, blue, and green, you still need to sort of “pick one.” To access any of the others requires reprogramming the light. And while programming is fine and easy, it’s still not something you’ll do on the fly.
This setup also means there’s just one (each) of the secondary color emitters (contrast to three of any one color for original Dragon.) Again I think this is fine. The secondary (just one!) is plenty bright for whatever I’ll use a secondary for (and I would have said the two modes of secondary on original Dragon were too bright anyway.) So all in all, this is a win in the secondary LED game.
Some other Dragon drivers had a secondary bleed. The lowest level is really too bright for me to be able to discern, but it doesn’t look like any of the secondary emitters are “always on.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
I didn’t measure the secondary emitters, because the extreme makes it fairly useless anyway. So what’s below is lowest to highest of the white output. CCT is around 4000K as claimed. CRI, though not claimed as such, is high CRI (over 90.) These are good results.
Beamshots
These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away. In the photos below, there’s blue secondary first, then white (6 modes) and I threw in red and green at the end.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Very small!
- Three secondary colors are built into one light!
- Uses standard optic
- Output is quite high
- Includes 18350
- Great build quality
- Quantum Dragon is included (Quantum Dragon is new and neat, too!)
What I don’t like
- The lowest modes just aren’t low enough!
- Titanium is pricey
- Availability (currently out of stock 🙁 )
Notes
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